Better That You Don't
by XelixAhture
Summary: The Courier can help almost everyone she encounters, yet she still can't seem to help herself.
1. Chapter 1: It's Something Like Dawn

This is short, but I'm just getting started. Comments/reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

"…must seem like an eighteen-karat run of bad luck…"

It sounded like the blood was rushing to her ears, and her heart seemed to be beating too fast. She clung to the words viciously as fear filled her senses. Clenching her fists at her sides, she tried opening her eyes, blinking several times to clear away the fuzziness of sleep.

"You're awake," a gentle voice roused her. "Hell of a shot you took. You've been out a few days now."

She turned her head, her breath calming at the sound of the soothing voice. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, instantly feeling a little dizzy.

"Easy there. Easy," said the man. "Why don't you just relax a second? Get your bearings. Let's see what the damage is. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?"

"My name?" Her voice came out a croak. She cleared her throat and tried a second time.

"That's right," he answered. "Tell me your name."

"It's…" Her mind drew a blank. "Rita." She finally answered. She had a feeling that it wasn't her name.

He chuckled lightly, his voice soft. "Well, that's not what I'd have picked for you, but if that's your name, that's your name. I'm doc Mitchell. Welcome to Good Springs."

"Thanks." She bit her lip. She tried to remember if she'd ever heard of the town before, but couldn't remember anything at all.

"Well," he breathed. "No sense in keeping you in bed any longer. Walk to the Vit-o-matic Vigor Tester, and we'll learn right quick if you've got all your faculties back."

* * *

Violence just wasn't in her nature? She didn't want to rely on others? _What a joke, _she thought, biting her lip as she left the Doc's house, meager supplies in tow.

She was a courier. The little slip of paper was the only thing she had linking her to her past. Just an invoice. Her breath came unevenly as she thought of how absolutely empty that seemed. She had a few caps and a couple of stimpacks, but nothing else that would tell her who she was. Her mind churned over all the possibilities of what she could go to figure herself out. Her mind settled on finding a Mojave Express office first off. _From there, _she thought glumly. _I'll have to see if they recognize me._

Continuing to walk, she thought of everything the kind doctor had told her. She replayed every word as carefully as she could. The scenery passed by, seeming so unfamiliar. She felt lost, watching the tumbleweeds...

"Tumbleweeds tumbling," She muttered, rolling her eyes at how cheesy her thoughts had turned.

Suddenly a new thought came to mind.

She sucked in a hissing breath as she suddenly remembered something. Her mind vaguely recalled a face and a gun. She froze, standing in a lonely street occupied by the tumbleweeds and scraggly plants. The dust stirred as the wind quietly scooped it up, playing with her hair as well. The black strands floated in front of her face as her world froze.

"The game was rigged from the start."

The wind stopped and her hair settled, partly in her face, and the trance was broken. She tried to remember more but nothing came.

Sighing, she walked into the saloon only to be greeted by a growling dog.

"Cheyenne. Stay," Ordered a woman dressed in leather armor. She had her hair tied back in a knot behind her head. "Don't worry. She won't bite unless I tell her to. Name's Sunny. The way I figured, you wouldn't be walking out of the doc's place at all. What can I do you for?"

The Courier took a breath and held it for half a second. "The doctor says that you can help me to shoot?"

"Yeah." The slightest of pauses. "I guess there's a thing or two that I could show you. Meet me out back behind the saloon.

She followed her hesitatingly, eyes darting about the saloon, taking in all the faces. There was some man dressed in old armor arguing with the bar tender. _Wonder what that's all about._

As she got to the back of the building, Sunny pulled out a rifle, handing it off to the Courier. The metal felt cool and light in her hands.

"Try to hit those Sarsaparilla bottles over there."

She nodded, inhaling deeply as she turned to face the bottles. She crouched on one knee reflexively and checked the gun, trying to become familiar with it. She figured it out quicker than she could have realized and was soon hitting the bottles with some accuracy.

"Apparently I've used a gun before," She noted to herself mostly.

"I'd say." Sunny rubbed the back of her neck. "Hey look. Normally I wouldn't ask this, but I figure you could apply those skills of yours, and I'd pay you too. Could you maybe help me with a gecko problem?"

"Sure," The Courier answered automatically, deciding that she could handle making a few caps.


	2. Chapter 2: In The First Time You See Me

I guess now we're kinda getting somewhere. Rate/Comment please c:

* * *

_Run,_ she silently ordered herself._ Breathe._

Each step seemed to lead her feet into every sharp rock, every pot hole, and every small cactus in the Mojave. The pack of geckos didn't seem to mind though. She was nearing a town with a dinosaur statue overlooking the road.

_If I don't take them out now, _she realized. _Someone else will get hurt._

She pulled out her 9mm pistol that she had acquired while scavenging. That was another thing she was good at apparently. She twisted and tried to hold her ground, screaming as one of the geckos bit into her arm. She fired. Something in her just let go and she felt much calmer as she fired again and again, taking out the geckos as quickly as she could. Occasionally she thought that her pistol echoed, like it fired a second shot, but she just shrugged the idea off.

Just as she was about to take out the last gecko, its head exploded into nothing but a bloody stump on its shoulders. She hadn't been imagining the extra shots, she realized as she noticed that there were more geckos than those that she had taken down on her own. She glanced around for a bit until she saw a sniper, sitting in the mouth of the dinosaur. She waved as she began walking forward.

She cradled her injured arm lightly in her other hand until she reached a gate that led, hopefully to the entrance to the dinosaur. She opened it and entered timidly. If he'd saved her, he couldn't be bad, right? She found her way through and was soon standing behind him.

"Goddammit, don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?"

"I seen that there was a sniper nest up here," She commented blandly, taking in his sunglasses and red beret.

"I think you'd better leave." His facial expression was harsh, as if he tended to always wind up angry.

"I just wanted to say thanks." She bit her lip, eyeing his tense jaw. "Do you treat everyone around here like this?"

"Wait." His face softened just a tiny bit. "You just got into town. Maybe you shouldn't go. Not just yet." Suddenly his voice sounded a little pleading.

"So now you want something from me." She sighed. Everyone seemed so open to asking for favors. Everyone would rather have her do their dirty work instead of doing it themselves. She'd done it too. The caps were sometimes worth it. Even more so, she found that she was more resourceful than anyone could expect from her.

"I need someone I can trust. You're a stranger. That's a start." His voice was low and harsh. She wondered if she should just leave anyway.

"You only trust strangers?" A smile spread on her face and her eyebrows rose.

"I said it was a start," He snapped. "This town… nobody looks me straight in the eyes anymore."

She bit her lip and briefly wondered if she'd had the habit all her life. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to find something for me. One night, while I was on watch, some legion slavers took my wife. They knew when to come, which rout to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who."

"You're trying to find your wife?"

"Carla's dead. I want the son of a bitch who sold her."

"How do you know she's dead for sure?"

"I know, all right? That's all you need to know."

The Courier fiddled with a lock of hair that had found its way into her face and realized that her arm was still injured as she winced from the stinging. She attempted to hide it casually behind her back, feeling a little self-conscious. "What do I do if I find this person?"

The Sniper didn't miss a beat. He already had a plan. Maybe he'd been planning for a long time. He handed her the hat off of his head. It was still warm. "Bring him out in front of the nest when I'm on duty. I work nights. Put on my beret while you're with him so I know it's him. I'll take care of the rest. I need to do this myself."

The Courier had a gnawing sense of dread. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good. I'll make it worth your while. Oh, and another thing, we shouldn't speak again until this is over. No one in town knows that I know what happened to my wife. Best they never know, or the legion will be after me next."

She nodded. "Okay. Goodbye."

"Yeah," He said, turning back to his post.

She turned to leave, glancing over her shoulder once more before leaving. There was a little office just outside of the gates where she went to next. The woman there was much more polite, her demeanor seeming like a rickety old lady who liked to read in her spare time and scold youngsters in whatever time she had left after that.

The Courier rented a room with the several caps she had made while scavenging and selling whatever useless things she found. Chet had been real annoyed when she'd come in selling box after box of Abraxo cleaner and empty bottles. He'd never really seemed that nice anyway.

Once as she had the room, she threw down her pack. She didn't realize how heavy it was until she was at least a hundred pounds lighter. Rubbing her shoulders, she peeled off her armor, and ran a bath. The bathroom light didn't work so she had to leave her pip boy light on, worrying that she would drain whatever battery kept it going. But it never went out. Once as she was finally finished, she bandaged her arm and threw herself onto the bed naked. She didn't even want to bother putting clothes on.

She sighed and tucked the covers under her chin, rolling to the side immediately and began to wonder about herself. Her mind drifted back to the sniper. Did she have a family too? Was there someone waiting for her? Did she have doting husband who would come to search for her even after she had been captured and shot? Or would he have given up just as the sniper had?


	3. Chapter 3: God Help Me

So far this has all been recap, stuff that's happened in the game and the Courier's reaction to it. After this, things will get a little more interesting.

* * *

The next morning, the Courier spent her time going through everyone's things.

She lay on her bed, taking a break from her current assignment. Tucking her hands behind her head and kicking up her feet, she nibbled on her lip while mulling over the day's events so far.

She'd found some interesting things everywhere, but two people had talked to her about some ghouls not too far down the road. A man called Manny Vargas had requested that she found a way to take care of the problem. It took a lot of lying to convince him that she wasn't afraid of the ghouls and just didn't feel like straying from her task. They were terrifying. She hated the way the ghouls roared before running at incredible speeds just to get their jaws around your neck. She shivered.

Manny had told her that he wouldn't tell her where Benny and the Great Khans had been headed until she cleared them out, but had already found something on Manny's computer about which directions they had gone. She could leave now. She could forget about the angry sniper and his problems.

As she thought this, she immediately bit her lip. He had asked her for help. Besides, he had a right to be angry about what happened.

Sighing, she cursed her apparent need to help others and got up to continue searching.

Every hour seemed to drag on, yet she didn't get caught when she went through everyone's belongings. Maybe she had been a soldier before, trained in the use of guns and stealth. She chuckled. She didn't feel like a soldier, she wasn't disciplined enough.

It was nearly night when the Courier decided to check Jeanie May's belongings. She'd already looked through her house while she was busy tending to the Motel, but there was still the safe that she'd seen behind the counter. It probably just had earnings from rented rooms. Nothing that she'd found seemed to truly incriminate anyone. Could she even trust the sniper at all? Just as she was thinking it, the door opened behind where she'd been sitting on the dinosaur's tail. Cliff and the daytime sniper both exited the building.

"What are you up to?" The sniper asked cautiously.

"I'm just relaxing." She hesitated just a little too long and the sniper narrowed his eyes.

"I thought that you were really busy and had to go find that man?"

She pursed her lips, making an excuse. "You're the only one who can help me," She snapped. "You can handle the ghoul problem yourself. You're a trained sniper. I can't fix everything for everyone!" Her voice rose a notch.

"Well then I guess you'll just have to live with not knowing." He turned and calmly walked away, ignoring her outburst. Cliff eyed her warily and darted away as well.

As she twisted again so that she could see the door of the Motel office, she was met by the nighttime sniper's gaze. She could barely see his eyes through his sunglasses. He had his rifle slung over his shoulder. Over the course of the day, she had heard from people that his name was Craig Boone. No one used his first name, however.

She bit her lip and pulled her knees up, resting her arms across them and placed her chin on her arms. She didn't meet his gaze, but she saw one of his eyebrow raise quizzically before she looked away from him. The stress seemed to be getting to her. Maybe the life that she had before now had been much simpler and she wasn't used to going about these dangerous tasks just to get a few caps.

Boone walked silently past her and into the dinosaur, and Jeanie May walked out of the office.

Counting to one hundred, the Courier jumped off of the dinosaur's tail and strode towards the office. It was unlocked. She glanced about once and then slipped inside. Opening the safe was painfully easy and what she found made her stomach churn. Carla Boone and her unborn child had been sold. Her vision blurred for a second. Boone hadn't just lost his girl, but his family.

She folded the paper and tucked in into her boot, standing with new resolve. She checked to make sure that Boone's beret was still in the hip bag that she had found on a dead prospector. She strode out of the building, glancing at the dinosaur for reassurance and headed down the path to get Jeanie May.

It really wasn't that hard. She just knocked and told her that she had to see something important. Then she led her towards the road, supposedly, walking around the front of the dinosaur. Halting, she met Boone's gaze. She felt her heart pounding and imagined that he felt the same way. She imagined his reaction, sitting in the sniper's nest, watching her approach with Jeanie May.

"Karma's a complete bitch," the Courier hissed. "Isn't it?" She flashed a bitter grin.

"I don't understand, dear."

Closing her eyes and taking a breath, the Courier pulled out the beret. She didn't even need to put it on before everything happened. Jeanie May recognized it and stumbled backwards, tripping, but not even hitting the ground before her head was blown off. The courier looked up at Boone. He lowered his rifle and nodded at her.

The Courier made her way up to the stairs, feeling a little nervous. She didn't know what she ought to say.

When she opened the door to face Boone, his back was to her again. She cleared her throat, holding up his beret, clutched tightly in her hand.

"That's it then," He said, sounding relieved as he took the beret from her and put it on. "How did you know?"

"I found the receipt," the Courier admitted bitterly, letting her empty hand fall to her side.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It'd be just like them to keep paper work. Here." He handed her a bag full of caps. "This is all I can give. I think our dealings are done here."

"What will you do now?" She asked, biting her lip yet again, ignoring his dismissal.

"I don't know. I won't be staying, I know that. I don't see much point in anything except hunting legionaries. Maybe I'll wander, like you."

The way he said the last two words seemed to be a hint. She wasn't sure, but she took the chance. "Come with me." She felt a little embarrassed as the words came out of her mouth. "Let's go after the Legion," She added to make herself feel a little better.

"You don't want to do that," he responded, not harshly.

"I thought snipers worked in teams." She fiddled with the pipboy on her wrist, glancing back up to meet his eyes through his sunglasses.

"Yeah." He almost seemed amused, or maybe bitter. "Working on your own, you're a lot less effective. I've been there and paid for it." He adjusted his rifle on his shoulder. "Fine. Let's get out of here."

"Could we get some sleep first?" She offered a small smile. "I've been awake for a while. Besides, you might want to pack." She paused. "I'm already all set."

Boone nodded and the two of them walked out of the dinosaur together.


	4. Chapter 4: I've Found A Beginning

So, this one is a little "talky". I think I kind of have an idea of where this is headed, but I don't want to bore everyone with tedious details that were already in the game (which I've been doing anyway.) Comments are always welcome! Any help with the plot would be nice too c: Thank you for reading. I promise to try to keep posting.

* * *

The sun filtered in through the courier's window as she sat up in bed. At first she was a little confused, the dusty room seemed like it belonged to someone else. The dark floor, the disfigured coat rack. It was a few minutes before she remembered that she was in Novac. Then she remembered Benny.

Clenching her jaw, the Courier yanked the covers off of her. Showering quickly, she started to pack and soon realized that she had too much. Gritting her teeth, she left some of her old things behind, tucking them into the drawers, promising to come back some day. She repacked and hefted all of her useless loot onto her back, rubbing her shoulders. She didn't know why she had so much junk, but it seemed like she might need it. All together, she had as much ammo that would fit in the front pouch of her bag, an extra pistol, a lead pipe, and as much food and medical supplies that she could carry.

She pondered the "why" of her behavior for a few minutes before tugging on her boots and leaving her room. Boone was sitting on the steps outside of her room.

"Hey," he greeted. His voice was low and rough. The Courier smiled in greeting and was struck for a moment. Her heart thudded lightly in her chest as she realized that she barely knew this man. She didn't know why she had asked him to go with her, but there was no turning back.

She locked the door and adjusted her pack. "Do you have everything that you'll need?" Her voice wavered slightly out of nervousness. "I have some extra leather armor if you need it."

"I'll take the armor if that's okay," he said as he stood. "But I've got everything else that I think that I'll need. I bought some extra food from Cliff just a bit ago."

"Right." She nodded, taking a quick breath. "I'm all set if you are."

"I'm right behind you." His voice was low and smooth and she blushed a little.

* * *

The sun seemed to seep straight into her bones as she moved over the desert. Was this something that she was used to? Or did she hardly spend any time in the desert? Sighing, she adjusted her heavy pack, pulling out a Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle.

"Want one?" She asked Boone.

"Sure." He took the bottle she handed him and gulped it down.

"So, tell me about yourself," she tried.

"If you want," he answered. "It's not really my thing. What did you want to know?"

"What did you do before you were a sniper in Novac?"

"I was a sniper with the NCR." She thought she heard a little amusement in his voice at that.

"Where did you serve?"

"I was stationed at Camp Golf. After the NCR claimed the dam, they didn't really need Camp Golf."

She nodded, biting her lip, not really sure what to say.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What did you used to do?"

"Well, I guess I was a courier. Maybe a bounty hunter. I might have helped out in odd missions here and there too. I'm kind of a miscellaneous. I've got a little of everything."

"Being a courier seems to be a dangerous job." Boone commented. "I heard on the radio that there's this one courier from Good Springs that was shot in the head over a package that she was carrying."

The Courier bit her lip. "Yeah, stuff can happen. Someone might have something of value that they know everyone wants, so it'd be easier to risk someone else's life to move it." She grinned, not even bothering to tell him that it was her that had been shot. "At least she survived though."

"Yeah, pretty remarkable. Out in the wasteland, there are a lot of people who just die. So many that it almost seems pointless to get close to anyone."

"It's not pointless," she chided. "There are survivors too. People who get to be as old as Ranger Andy or old lady Gibson." She mentally added a few people to the list as she recalled people that she met along her travels and scavenging adventures.

"But everyone's lost someone."

The Courier shrugged. She didn't know if she'd lost anyone at all.

* * *

By the time they reached Boulder city, it was late afternoon.

"Okay, so I mentioned the guy that I'm after, but anyway, him and his men traveled this way, I guess." She made herself stop talking to gather her words. "Uh. Yeah. This guy. I need to find him. That's where we're going?" She bit her lip and turned away, unable to formulate the sentence properly.

"So. You've got a vendetta against this guy and you've been tracking him. Got it. What did he do to piss you off? Ex or something?"

"No!" She gasped, surprised, then laughed. "Uhm, no. He kind of tried to kill me."

Boone nodded. "You know, I'm not really sure why I came with you. I just wanted to hunt legionaries."

"I'm not really sure why I asked you to come along. For all I know, you could kill me in my sleep." She smiled over her shoulder as she strode forward to meet the NCR officer that stood in front of the Boulder City gate.

"The same goes for you." He chuckled lightly. "I guess we'll have to trust each other."

"And see how things play out," she added as she nodded to greeted the officer.

"Hold on," The officer ordered, holding his hand out to stop her. "We've got a situation with some Great Khans. They've got two of my people captive. We've been ordered to take them out, but I don't want to risk the lives of my people."

"Let me in, I can free your people." The Courier stood tall, not really knowing why she felt so much bravado. Maybe the bullet had scrambled her brains in the common sense area.

"Normally I wouldn't accommodate such a request, but we're getting pretty desperate. What the hell, go on in." He waved her on, nodding at Boone as he passed.

The Courier strode forward, opening the gate, feeling powerful. She walked past the soldiers stationed behind sand bags and looked straight ahead as they gave her looks. The entire city was a mess of rubble and looked like a war zone in every sense. When she opened the door to the building the Khans were holed up in, she expected to see Benny, but instead was greeted by a rather rude, "What the hell?" Jessup stood from the chair he had been seated in. "You're that courier that Benny wasted back in Good Springs. You're supposed to be dead!"

Next to her, Boone looked at her, hiding the surprise he must have felt.

"Ooooh," She said for effect. "I'm a ghost." The other Khans rolled their eyes and simply continued watching.

"Okay. Quit fucking around man! So you survived. I guess you have a score to settle now."

"So where's Benny?"

"He took off," Jessup sneered.

"Why?"

"Cuz he's a snake, that's why."

"Where'd he go?" She crossed her arms.

"I don't know if you noticed, but we're a little preoccupied with those soldier boys right now."

"Why are you holding their people captive?"

"Why do you think? So they don't blow us sky high. If they let us go, their people can go free."

"Let the captives go. I won't let them hurt you."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You're not in any position to argue. Just trust me." She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way.

"Okay. Fine. Oh, and here's a little token." He walked around the desk. "Benny's lighter." He handed it to her. "Do me a favor and shove it up his ass when you find him. He's probably headed back to the strip by now."

"Thanks." She grinned.

Talking the officer into letting the Khan's free wasn't so hard. He seemed to want to avoid conflict and let them run out of the town like coyotes with their tails on fire. The Courier smirked at her analogy and turned to Boone.

"Looks like we're headed for the strip." She rolled her feet onto her heels and pulled at the straps of her bag with her thumbs.

"You're the courier from the news?"

"Uh, yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't see any reason to gloat."

Boone chuckled. "Let's go."

The Courier grinned, falling into step beside him.


	5. Chapter 5: So Here We Are

Hopefully you'll like this one, even though it's short and pointless. Comments always welcome :3

* * *

She steadied her sights, aiming for the unarmored neck of a Prime Legionary. Just as she was about to fire, he fell over, dead.

She briefly considered glaring at Boone when another legionary ran at her, machete in hand. She shot twice, missing both times but managed to get him in the leg and then the chest afterwards. He fell. Inhaling, she shot at another, hitting him in the head.

She heard a grunt and turned to see Boone clutching at his leg. Without thinking, she sidestepped in front of him. She sucked in a breath, aiming and shooting at the legionary that was wielding a hunting rifle. He hit her once in the shoulder causing her to let out a sharp cry of pain before continuing to fire until she hit him. Once as he was down, she heard a crack of a rifle behind her and the last legionary fell. She turned to see Boone, on one knee, lowering his rifle.

"I don't need protecting," he growled.

She shrugged, holstering her pistol as she self-consciously checked the bodies. She collected the hunting rifle she had seen earlier.

"Why are you always scavenging worthless things off of dead bodies?"

"I can make good caps that way. The little things add up." Her left arm didn't want to cooperate after being hit. She moved herself towards a rock and hefted her pack off. Once she was seated, she unclipped her armor and shrugged it off, revealing the bruised and bloody shoulder. The bullet was imbedded in the surface, only a centimeter in, with most of it still outside of her body. "Thank god for armor, right?" She said without thinking. Boone who was clutching his thigh. "Get over here."

He grunted and limped over. She pulled the bullet out of her shoulder and brushed her fingers over the tender flesh for a moment. Then she began pulling things out of her bag until she found the supplies that she needed. She pulled out a stimpack and injected it into her shoulder. Then she found some med-x for Boone and a few bandages.

"I don't want any chems." Boone hissed, tugging off his boots and then his pants.

"Okay," The Courier blushed and looked away, taking out whatever else she could find. She would have given him some hydra, but he shook his head at that too.

"I'm not a big fan of chems," he hissed, inspecting the wound. "I think this isn't so bad, it just hurts."

The Courier nodded. Pulling out some purified water, she poured it onto some rags and began cleaning his wound. She bit her lip as she worked, conscious of Boone watching her. She pulled out the bandages and began wrapping them around his leg, injecting a stimpack into either side of the wound.

Once as she was done, she helped him to get his armor back on and rubbed the back of her neck as she thought. "Uhm," she muttered. "Sorry. That you got shot. At least only two of them had guns…"

He looked at her, silently observing. After a moment, she turned and made eye contact.

"Uh." She bit her lip again. "We should probably find camp."

"Why are you sorry about me getting shot?" Boone stood up, favoring his injured leg. "I wanted to hunt the Legion. I fired first and provoked them. Maybe I should apologize for not giving you a chance to ready yourself. You got shot too."

She bit her lip, not saying anything. They stared each other down before the Courier finally looked away. "On our way here I saw an old camp site. We could stay there."

Boone shrugged. "Lead the way." His voice was smooth and calm, with his usual lack of emotion.

* * *

Once as they had slowly made their way back, with Boone limping, they had a fire going. The Courier had finally patched up her shoulder, injecting herself with med-x while Boone watched with narrow eyes.

"It's dangerous to use chems," he stated blandly.

The Courier bit her lip and set the syringe aside. "After I got shot, it seems to be a habit that I picked up pretty easily. I think I might have done them before." She shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I was fiend." She thought for a moment. "Probably not."

"You really don't know who you were before?"

The Courier shrugged. "I kind of have an idea. My memories come back every day." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders at the lie, feeling the warmth of med-x flow through her veins.

"What do you remember?" Boone asked, pulling out a cigarette.

"Well," the Courier leaned back, then she smiled lazily and turned to Boone. "Those are bad for you."

"It's not like I really care. Or have I not made that clear?"

She shrugged trying to think of something to counter with. She couldn't come up with anything. "You care about chems. But..." She took a breath. "What I remember is my business."

"So, in other words," Boone said as he lit the cigarette. "You don't remember a thing."

The Courier glared. "Okay." She leaned her elbows on her knees. "So, if you expect me to share my personal business... Why don't you like Manny? What happened at Bitter Springs?"

Boone became silent. "Just go to bed. I'll take first watch." His voice was low and quiet with an unreadable emotion beneath it.

"Fine." She unclipped the bedroll from her pack and laid it out on the ground. It was the only one they had since they never slept at the same time and they didn't want to carry too much weight. It had already been a week since they had joined together at Novac and they'd done a lot of ambling around. The Courier tugged off her boots and slipped under the blankets. She sighed as she realized that they had taken three days to get rid of the needy ghouls following Jason Bright. (She had decided to help Manny after all.) Then it took another day to get to Boulder City, and they'd been traveling for three days after that to get to New Vegas and they were still a ways away.

"Sorry for prying," Boone said out of the blue.

"I was already over it." The Courier rolled over and smiled at him. "Tomorrow we'll be in Vegas. Unless someone else has another favor for us."

Boone made a noise somewhere in between a grunt and a laugh and flicked his cigarette.

The Courier watched the ashes fall to the ground and rolled over to stare at the sky, remembering from somewhere that the sky used to be so hazy from pollution that the stars were hard to see.

"You're just a lot more open. Or maybe it's more talkative. I don't know. That's why I expected you to share your stories from before you were shot."

The Courier looked at Boone again. "Sorry for getting so defensive. I feel like I have to rely on just myself and not others. Maybe I was a loner. Maybe there's no one out there looking for me because I always took care of myself."

"You seem to get along with people just fine," Boon remarked.

"Until I piss them off and they shoot me in the head."

Boone shook his head. "Not what I was referring to."

The Courier inhaled and exhaled. "Good night, Boone."

"Sleep tight. I'll keep us safe."

She nodded, closing her eyes and rolling onto her side.


	6. Chapter 6: And Now You Know

So, I would like reviews please! I'm a little lost and I'm just going where the wind takes me at the current moment. But anything helps. Thank you guys for the support! (You know who you are!) Sorry this one is so short!

* * *

The streets of New Vegas were relatively dark with pot holes dotting every step they took.

Bone grunted as he tripped in one of them. He stepped carefully after that and she giggled softly, so that he wouldn't hear.

As they were walking, Boone suddenly pulled out his rifle and fired. She spun around in surprise to see him taking down two men.

"What?" She squeaked.

"They were running at us with knives, usually not a good sign. I've been here before. It's…" He sucked in a breath and she wasn't sure he would continue. "I met Carla on the Strip."

She bit her lip. "So this type of behavior from locals is common?"

He shrugged. "Desperate times." Folding his arms and continuing walking, he added, "People in Freeside aren't sitting so well. All the money gets poured into the Strip. There aren't any tourists who buy the radroach cuisine that vendors sell on the street. Everyone comes here for the fun and excitement of the casinos."

"What about becoming self-sustaining?" She eyed every alley way they passed.

"With them pulling knives on everyone, I doubt they've been very successful at that. The best medicine they've got is from the Followers in the Fort."

"Who's that?"

"Right. No memories." He sighed. "The Followers of the Apocalypse. They're holed up at Fort Mormon. It's that building up ahead actually. The one you commented on earlier." He pointed. "They use donated medical supplies and are in pretty bad shape themselves. But they fix up anyone who comes in. A lot of the people they fix up are junkies. There are a lot of those around."

"Yeah…" She stared at the stars for a moment, contemplating herself. "I don't _think_ that I have a chem problem…" They walked in silence. Suddenly she grinned. "But you're awfully talkative. What gives?"

He shrugged.

She sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets, feeling like a child next to his cold demeanor. "How did you meet Manny?"

Boone sighed. "We were both in First Recon together. He was a good spotter."

"Obviously you two hate each other now. He seemed to have a problem with Carla."

"Look, we're not exactly 'brothers in arms'. So excuse me if I don't want to talk about everything with you."

The Courier nodded, feeling even more childish. "Sorry."

They walked in silence for a while.

Suddenly Boone spoke. "When Carla disappeared… Manny was the first person I told." He sighed. "He seemed… happy. So yeah, I'm upset with the guy."

"I knew he didn't like Carla," she began, not quite knowing what to say. "But to do that…."

"Yeah," he snorted, his voice sounding sarcastic, for the first time showing emotion.

"I didn't really get off on good terms with Manny either." She paused, unsure if she should say the next part. "Maybe he just had a crush on you."

Boone snorted in a way that almost seemed like a laugh. "Yeah right."

The Courier bit her lip, still unsure of herself. She wasn't exactly used to holding a conversation with Boone. "Uhm, well here's the strip." She recognized the robots that looked exactly like Victor, the robot that had saved her in Good Springs.

Boone nodded when she snuck a glance at him.

"Here we go." She strode up to the bot and handed it the passport she had Ralph make. The man who had tipped her off about the credit check sat on a bench not too far away.

"Welcome," boomed the securitron. "To New Vegas!" It immediately wheeled itself back to its position and continued scanning the area.

She pushed the gates open. They seemed easier to open than most doors in New Vegas, as if all the hopes of everyone had an effect on the hinges. _It's probably just from use_, she thought self consciously. She stepped forward, Boone right behind her.

Once inside, the Courier gaped at all the lights. She turned her head at everything, taking in the amazing sights. Each casino had its own unique flare and the Courier found herself grinning like a giddy child. She glanced over at Boone and saw him watching her. Shrugging her shoulders, she toned down her grin, covering her teeth to not look like an idiot.

"I don't think I've been here ever," she announced. "Even before I got shot," she added with a smirk.

"So it would seem." Boone held a strange look on his face.

"Let's go." She combed her hand through her hair and began to push her way past the crowds of people.


	7. Chapter 7: It's something

Thank you so much to those who've been reading! I've had a bout of writer's block lately, but I've finally got around to writing. Any reviews and suggestions would be appreciated!

* * *

The Courier strode forward, the logo for the Tops casino clearly visible above the second wall. Inhaling deeply, she took her eyes off all the sights around her and sped up towards the gate. She pictured his stupid checkered suit and his fucking gelled hair, angled up to almost match that of a Kings gang member.

When she was halfway there, suddenly Victor appeared out of nowhere, wheeling in front of her to block her path.

"Whoa! Hold it right there partner," came the familiar electronic drawl.

"I've got a score to settle," she growled. "Please just hold it for a few minutes."

"The Boss wants to see you in his office. Then he'll help you serve up your cold vengeance extra chilly."

She sighed. "What does he want?"

"The boss has a special mission for you. You have to hear him out before seeing this fellow who wronged you."

Tugging on a stray lock of her hair, the Courier tapped her foot impatiently. "Fine."

"Great," Victor drawled. "I'll open up the door now." He wheeled away at a brisk pace and as she followed him, his face switched from a cow boy to a regular police officer face. She pursed her lips and clenched her fists. Victor was just another tool. She'd always thought that he seemed okay, but apparently even he wasn't real, just a program to be controlled.

"This is why you shouldn't trust robots," She scoffed mostly to herself.

They made their way up the steps to the casino known as the Lucky 38. In her opinion, thirty-eight was an odd number choice. Why not thirteen? Or the Lucky Million? Shrugging off her useless thoughts, she was met with the Victor face on a different securitron that was guarding the door.

"The boss wants to see you alone, your friend will have to wait outside."

She crossed her arms. "I already don't trust you enough."

"Sorry little miss. Boss's orders."

She turned to glance at Boone and he shrugged.

"If House wanted you dead, you'd be dead." Boone tried to offer reassurance, however it didn't help.

The Courier nodded, biting her lip. "Okay." She walked up to the door and pulled it open and entered.

* * *

"He was really charismatic," The Courier commented thoughtfully, shoveling a spoonful of BlamCo Mac 'n' Cheese into her mouth. "I fink i' wath the wai he taaked."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Boone ordered.

She chuckled, swallowing her food. "Sorry." She grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her chest to prop herself up. The two of them were sitting on the bed in her new room in the Presidential Suite at the Lucky 38.

"So what happens now?" Boone took a bite out of his crispy squirrel bits.

"By the time we were done talking, it was too late for me to take out Benny."

"Yeah. I was out there long enough just sitting on the steps."

"Sorry. At least you had all the magazines I asked you to carry." She grinned, taking another bite of her food.

Boone shrugged, finishing off his food.

"The NCR wants the dam," she began, twisting over so that she wasn't on her belly anymore. She wiggled until she was sitting in a cross-legged position. "But so does House."

Boone stayed silent, his eyes fixed on her as he listened.

"He needs me to get the Platinum Chip from Benny. That's the package that I was supposed to deliver." She sighed. "House protected this city from the bombs. He's kept it going. The NCR's not so bad either. They've done their best for this place as a whole. Protecting people and getting things done. I'm not really sure who I should help."

"Do whatever." Boone stood up as if to leave.

"Yeah, but what if it all just turns to shit? If House has the dam, he might only use it for New Vegas and the rest of the Mojave would suffer."

"So help the NCR." He sounded a little impatient.

"But…" She bit her lip and stared at Boone for what seemed like forever. He just stared back with his shoulders as stiff as ever, the corners of his mouth turned down like always, and his brows permanently pulled together. "Whatever. Thanks for the advice." She flopped backwards onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

Suddenly Boone's face appeared in her vision again as he hovered over her, propping his arms on the bed on either side of her shoulders. "Look. I'd prefer if you helped the NCR. I've fought with them and I know them. But you can do what you want. Whatever happens is going to happen. There's no avoiding it."

"You act like everything is inevitable."

"I really think it is." His voice was low and soothing and her heart skipped a beat.

She stared up at him silently, wondering for a brief moment what he thought of her. She seemed to aimlessly make her way through their travels, shooting at things and missing while she tripped over every pot hole in the road and seemed to always almost get hurt. He probably expected her to die. Maybe he hoped she would so that he could hunt down the Legion and finally be done with it all.

She propped herself up on her elbows, and looked him in the eyes.

When she didn't say anything he moved away awkwardly. "What?"

"I don't know." She bit her lip again. "I just…" She wanted to complain that he was the only person that she could even remotely call a friend and yet she barely knew him. She wanted to tell him how much that sucked and that she wished that she didn't feel so cut off from everyone. Instead what came out was, "I'm tired. Could you shut off the light?"

Boone nodded and did so, closing the door behind him. She laid back down and stared at the shadows on the ceiling and rolled onto her side to pick up a bottle of whiskey and drank it until she fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Similar To Fear

Thank you guys again. I'm nearing one thousand views, which excites me! Critique is always welcome. I want to know how I'm doing!

* * *

The next morning the Courier woke up with an insane head ache. She rolled to her side and covered her head. As she laid there she heard a soft knocking on the door. She immediately covered her head with the pillow and moaned for whoever it was to go away.

"The robot wanted to tell you to make your move now." The voice belonged to Boone.

"Can't it wait?" She whimpered.

"He seemed pretty impatient." A pause. "You okay?"

"Killer hang over," she admitted, holding the pillow close to her pounding skull.

She could hear Boone sigh through the door. "I'll get you some fixer."

Lying in bed for a few more minutes she sighed, dreading facing the day. Another painful knock announced that Boone had returned.

"Come in," she grumbled unenthusiasticly.

The door creaked loudly as it opened and the Courier clamped the pillow tighter over her head.

"Here," came a soft rumble.

"The light's not on, is it?" Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"I'm not that cruel."

She felt a smile tugging on her lips as she dared to creep out of her pillow fortress. Boone grasped her arm and pushed up her sleeve until her shoulder was visible. He injected the fixer into her muscle as she gritted her teeth against the tiny pin prick of pain.

"How are you feeling?" He inquired.

"A little better already." She smiled softly. "Thanks."

He nodded, his face calm and tired, as if he hadn't slept well or at all.

"I think I'll head out to find Benny on my own." She flicked her eyes back to him. "I think you need some sleep."

"I don't even get to meet the guy?" Boone rumbled as he stood up.

"Sorry, boss's orders." She swung out of bed and brushed past him, trailing her fingers over his chest playfully as she passed. "And now the boss is ordering you to rest those tired eyes of yours."

She collected her pistol from the desk where she had set it the night before and stuffed a knife into her boot. They didn't allow weapons in the casinos, so she had to sneak them in. She tucked the pistol into the waistband of her pants and wiggled into a jacket to cover the handle of it. She double checked to make sure the safety was on. Just to make sure she didn't accidentally shoot herself in the ass.

"Well, I'm off," She announced turning to Boone one last time. "See ya."

He nodded, seeming to have other things on his mind. Instead of her usual prying, she let herself into the elevator and stabbed the button for the casino floor, watching as Boone's miserable face disappeared.

She signed as the doors opened again. Striding out of the casino, she feigned a confidence that she didn't feel.

Part of her wondered why she needed to kill Benny. The fucker had shot her, but here she was alive and well, about to take out a very powerful man. There were consequences. The entire staff might even come after her. She had misgivings even though she had been focused on killing him since she'd woken up, even though she had killed people before.

Letting out a breath, she tugged at the sleeves of her jacket nervously as she walked past the second gate. The Tops was right there.

She stopped and stared, imagining what it'd be like, where she might even find him, what would happen.

She pictured several scenarios where he killed her or someone else did. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

She still didn't move as she felt her nerve waning. Without warning, she turned around and headed back out the gate, feeling her legs speed her away from the hotel and off of the strip. She didn't know where she was going, but she kept moving.

Once as she was out of Vegas she slumped onto the ground, a dull ache filling her chest as her mind screamed that she was a coward.

"You've faced worse," she chided, standing back up. She hugged herself with her arms and continued walking.

* * *

Her feet led her down the I-15. She hadn't been there yet and her eyes kept glancing about to make sure that there were no "critters" coming after her. Sunny Smiles had said that this highway was dangerous, but so far, she only found a few bloatflies.

After another mile or so, she ran into a small shop. She nodded at the people working and continued on.

"Hey, hold up," A bright and chipper voice ordered.

The Courier turned and saw a woman trotting her way over.

"No offence, but you look like you've traveled a long way over some bad roads." She crossed her arms over her skinny chest. "Where do you come from?"

The Courier took in her sloppy appearance with her rough clothing. "I come from Good Springs."

"Wow. That's a long way from here." A pause. "You know, you're the first person I've seen come this way who looks like she can actually handle herself."

The Courier shrugged and waited for her to continue.

"First thing's first. I have a question." She held up a finger to display that it was only one question. "I met this group calling themselves the Brotherhood of Steel. Pretty strange bunch. What do you make of them?"

"They're harmless so long as you don't get in their way or have any tech that they want."

That earned her a smile from the other girl. "I don't suppose, that maybe I could come with you?"

She shrugged. "I guess you could. I'm just wandering to clear my head right now though."

"I promise I will allow for maximum head clearing." The spunk in her voice made the Courier smile. "Before we head off, there's something I wanted to tell you." A pause. "I'm from the Brotherhood." She inhaled deeply. "I know, I know. But I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't hate me on sight. We've made a lot of enemies."

"They haven't crossed me." The Courier smiled playfully and the two of them headed out.


End file.
